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Reception Music: Bands & DJs - can you do both?!

Ahh the planning feuds have begun! My parents (who I am beyond grateful are helping out my fiance and I immensely) are very adamant about having a live band during our reception. My fiance and I however, are really leaning towards a DJ to cover off on the many genres of music we both like, including house/techno/EDM and the more electronic, club-style music (and ok, our love for 90s-2000 rap & R&B, too ). I'm not sure a band is able to cater to these types of songs/requests....

Has anyone ever been to or had at their own wedding some combination of both? I'm not sure if that is even a possibility, but while I'd like to keep my parents happy, it is our wedding!

Any insights or recommendations are welcome! PS - we are having our wedding in Bergen County, NJ if there are any standout vendors who might be able to help.

Re: Reception Music: Bands &amp; DJs - can you do both?!

Yes. In Bergen County Hank Lane is the big name in music. Most bands will effectively have a DJ time because they take breaks. Club music probably isn’t a wedding crowd pleaser but would be a fun after party.

Thank you!! I will definitely look into him. Agreed, we were thinking only towards the end of the reception in terms of the more house/club music to keep everyone excited to do exactly that ... move to the after party. Thanks again, cheers!

The right band can cover every genre. It’s common enough to have a combination of the two. A lot of weddings I go to have a live trio or quartet during cocktail hour, then a DJ at the reception with some live music mixed in (a saxophone, bongo drums, etc.).My local recommendation is a band called Current Affair- they brilliantly covered everyone from Frankie Valli and Billy Joel to popular songs like Gangnam Style and Blurred Lines (it was 2013 ). I know they cover NYC and LI...maybe they also do parts of Jersey?

We also both wanted a band/DJ, so we are having an entertainment company called "Best of Both Worlds" at our wedding. It is a DJ with 2 live singers performers, so literally the best of both worlds! I believe they are based out of Princeton, Nj.